Incofin and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), in partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) have teamed up to launch the Nutritious Foods Financing Facility Fund (N3F). The Fund aims to boost the production and distribution of safe and nutritious foods across Sub-Saharan Africa, positively impacting the lives of millions.
Unleashing the Power of Impact Investing
N3F is an open-ended debt fund designed to invest in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) focused on improving nutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its innovative blended structure combines public and private donor funds to attract capital from private investors.
N3F will support SMEs along the nutritious food value chain. It aims to generate over half a billion additional servings of nutritious food, benefiting more than 7 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa over the next decade. The fund’s comprehensive investment strategy is poised to greatly enhance access, affordability, and desirability of nutritious foods for millions of lower-income individuals, with a special emphasis on women and children.
Beyond financial investments, N3F is committed to providing technical assistance (TA) for SMEs, with GAIN delivering this under a grant provided by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. GAIN will also lead the dissemination of knowledge and insights from the validation of metrics for targeting nutrition-sensitive investments from the N3F, a pioneering nutrition fund.
Addressing the Malnutrition Crisis
Malnutrition affects over one in three people globally. The challenge of accessing nutritious food is most pronounced in Africa, where most food comes from SMEs – especially for the poorest and most vulnerable people. Today, 80% of Africans cannot afford a healthy diet. Undernutrition and the higher risk of chronic food-related illnesses such as diabetes impact millions, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Only 50% of the fruit and vegetable volumes needed to meet dietary recommendations are available on the continent, let alone accessible to consumers. Additionally, African countries are among the most vulnerable to climate change; by 2050, under a 3°C warming trajectory, the number of undernourished Africans is expected to rise from 282 million to over 350 million people.
Quotes
Myrtho Vlastou, Debt Director Africa at Incofin Investment Management and Fund Manager for N3F:
“Through N3F, we are addressing a proven funding gap for SMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our focus is clear: supporting businesses with tailored funding products where it matters the most. With deals already in the works across East and West Africa, the demand is real.”
Roberta Bove, Senior Lead Innovative Finance at GAIN:
“Through N3F, we aim to pioneer making nutrition central to food systems. For too long, investment in food and agriculture in Africa has neglected healthy dietary needs, focussing on crops for export or staple foods. We aim to show it is possible to support the entrepreneurs who deliver most of the food to local consumers, and we aim to make diets healthier. In this way, N3F will contribute to achieving the nutrition targets of SDG 2 on ‘Zero Hunger.’”
Patrick Webb, Chief Nutritionist at USAID:
“Even in Africa, most consumers do not produce the food that they eat. They purchase it from local markets or from small shops that are supplied by Small and Medium-sized Enterprises working across the food system. These are mostly locally-owned businesses that process, transport and transform foods of all kinds. N3F fills a critically important role in offering value chain support to make nutritious foods more available, accessible and, hopefully, affordable to families across the continent. I hope that many more donors will join hands with this exciting and innovative initiative.”
This article was initially published by Incofin.
